Melvyn didn’t let the small matter of turning 80 prevent him from doing something that he’d wanted to do for years. After receiving a surprise Go Ape experience from his loved ones, he spent his birthday zooming along a zip wire through Grizedale forest – now that’s a story to tell the grandkids!

Young Hollie shared with us on Twitter an amazing video of her overcoming her fears on one of our Tarzan Swings. Hollie said that she deliberated for a whole minute and six seconds before finally making that leap – don’t worry Hollie, the Tarzan Swing is one of the toughest parts of our course! Well done for stepping off that edge! Click on Hollie’s name to see the awesome video.

We loved seeing how much fun Elspeth and her partner had on a sunny day out at our Dalby forest in North Yorkshire. She told us she couldn’t stop grinning and that it was one of the best days she’d ever had – glad we could put a smile on your face, Elspeth!

Littles ones have to make that first step too, and what better way to boost their physical confidence than a day tackling some challenging treetop obstacles? That’s exactly what Chris Eagles and his five-year-old son did in the Forest of Dean this summer, working together to complete the Tree Top Junior course. We hope we’ve inspired a lifetime of adventures!

The Akers-Butchers sent us an epic action shot of son Harry whizzing along a zip wire at Moors Valley. Apparently the adults loved it just as much as the kids, and it brought out the whole family’s sense of adventure – great news! We were also chuffed with their comments about our Go Ape team; the family said they were “so friendly” and made them all feel confident enough to head up into the trees – well, that’s what we’re here for!

26-year-old Kevin said it was only once he’d climbed the ladder that he appreciated the full scale of the task ahead of him! But once again our team encouraged him to push his limits and complete even the hardest of routes – and how did he feel afterwards? “That sense of accomplishment at the end is unrivalled,” he told us.

As we’ve said before, the greatest journeys start with the smallest of steps. So there’s no more saying “it can wait until tomorrow” or “I’m not ready” – if you want to live life to its fullest, there’s no time like the present!

How often do you find yourself saying ‘no’ when you could have said ‘yes’? Think about it.

It’s all too easy to stay in our comfort zones, doing the same old things and sticking with the same old familiar routines. Why? Because it makes us feel safe, that’s why! In fact, many of us have been guilty of shrugging off a friend or family member’s suggestion to try something we’ve never tried before with the phrase, “It’s just not my thing.”

But if you’ve never given it a go, how do you know it’s not your thing?

What if you could open up a new and exciting horizon to explore just by changing that one little word from a negative to a positive? What if there’s a whole world of fun out there that you’re letting pass you by?

Well, no more! This summer, we’re challenging people all over the nation to release their inner adventurer, cast off the shackles of sensible Britain and take the first step towards a life where you grab opportunities with both hands and set a new, fun-loving you loose on the world! All you need to do is take the first step and say yes to a new opportunity or experience that comes your way…

Luckily, we have just the thing to get you started, right here at Go Ape!

We firmly believe that there’s no better way to give your mentality a makeover than by embracing the Great Outdoors at one of our numerous sites around the country. After all, getting active out in the fresh summer’s air with your family and friends is a sure-fire step on the way to a healthier, happier you. With 27 choice locations to choose from, scattered throughout the UK, you can rest assured that your next adventure (should you choose to take it) is right on your doorstep – it really is that convenient!

The best thing about the Go Ape experience is that there really is something for everyone.

From our award-winning Tree Top Adventure (the classic Go Ape adventure) with its high ropes, tunnels and wind-in-your-hair zip wires to our Forest Segway tours where you and your tribe can get back in touch with good old Mother Nature and explore the forest on our self-balancing segways. Whether you want to fly high through the sky, swing through the tree tops or stay close to the ground, we’ve got your tribe covered!

No matter where you are in the UK, you’ll find our welcoming and supportive tribes awaiting – we’ve seen all sorts of people pass through and, more often than not, it’s those who claim they ‘can’t do it’ or that it’s not for them that have been the hardest to pry away at the end!

Saying “YES!” to Go Ape this summer might just feel like one little word, but it’s the first step towards living a more adventurous life.

Go on and #takethefirststep – we guarantee you won’t regret it.

If you hadn’t already seen, we released a national TV campaign on the 7th July.

We’re encouraging all the men, women and beasts of the UK to #TakeTheFirstStep and visit Go Ape for the very first time. While you can now see the 30 second TV ad in all of it’s glory, there was a lot of work going on off-camera that made it happen. Here’s the “behind the trees” scoop from our first ever TV advert.

When: 24th-25th May 2016

Where: Go Ape Leeds Castle

Who: 13 members of the public, 16 Go Ape staff, 4 actors and a hairy herd of directors.

Preparation for the day

After 14 years of encouraging people to live life adventurously, the advert had a lot to live up to. In order to film this TV campaign, we needed genuine reactions of people experiencing our classic Tree Top Adventure for the very first time. The hunt was afoot…

Naturally, we called on the most charismatic, fun-loving explorers we knew – the general public! Weeks before shooting, we sent out a message via email, social and the Go Ape website searching for members of the public who have never “gone ape.” We then invited a selection of bushy-tailed newbies up into the trees and filmed them on their first ever Tree Top Adventures.

On the day (queue 2 days of monkeying around on camera)

At 7am on a Tuesday morning in late-May we set off to start filming our very first TV advert. Go Ape at Leeds Castle was our location of choice. The course was closed so we could give our enthusiastic new members of the Tribe exclusive use of the course.

Before being let loose in the trees everyone had to complete a safety brief led by one of our instructors. At this time of the morning, before the sun had really woken up, we saw a lot of makeshift ways of keeping warm including lunges, jump squats, and a unique version of the shuffle.

Once our Tribe were up in the trees, however, nothing could stop them and the fun could really begin. Every single person we recorded on the day had never been to Go Ape before. The reactions we captured were real and raw (while others were just down right funny).

While shots like these were easily captured from the ground (or occasionally a nearby tree), others were a bit trickier to capture. In order to get the beautiful views of the tree-tops and really appreciate the landscapes our wind-in-your-face zip-wires travel over, we needed to go above and beyond – literally. The breath-taking shot of the zip wire crossing over the field was taken using a drone, and allowed us to really capture the wow-factor of our famous zips. Look out the final drone shot in the #TakeTheFirstStep advert.

We want to inspire you to #TakeTheFirstStep

All this hard work combined to make, what we think is, one tree-rific TV advert. Keep an eye out for our ad on the telly over the 6 weeks of summer and follow the #TakeTheFirstStep campaign on our social media channels. Or if you just can’t wait, check out the below:

We’re encouraging people to take their first steps by giving away free tree-time via Twitter and Facebook. Get involved and tell us who you would love to #TakeTheFirstStep with, and live life adventurously together!

Since 2002 we’ve been plotting ways to get the world swinging through the trees, and sometime in July 2016, we’ll be welcoming our 6 millionth customer!

We’ve come a long way since 2002, from our first Tree Top Adventure course in Thetford Forest to 30 locations UK-wide and over 60 adventures.

Our adventures now include the classic and original Tree Top Adventure, Tree Top Junior, Forest Segway and of course Zip Trekking Adventure, however there’s one thing for certain, we wouldn’t be where we are without you!

FLASH SALE: £6 off per person

To inspire your tribe to #TaketheFirstStep and Go Ape, we’re offering a 24-hour saving of £6 off per person at Go Ape (Tree Top Adventure, Tree Top Junior, Forest Segway and Zip Trekking) until 30 July 2016.

You have today to book (promo valid on 15 July 2016 only). Ends 23.59pm.